Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $1.55 Million Position in Clean Harbors, Inc. $CLH

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,549,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Clean Harbors in the second quarter worth $1,516,521,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Clean Harbors by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,376,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $557,146,000 after acquiring an additional 215,659 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Clean Harbors during the 2nd quarter worth $477,570,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Clean Harbors by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,515,621 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,958,000 after acquiring an additional 12,452 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 1.8% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 932,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,239,000 after purchasing an additional 16,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CLH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Clean Harbors in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Clean Harbors from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Clean Harbors from $305.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Clean Harbors from $313.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Clean Harbors from $340.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $354.57.

Clean Harbors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLH opened at $310.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $307.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $296.28. Clean Harbors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $335.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.86.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.41. Clean Harbors had a return on equity of 15.65% and a net margin of 7.03%.The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Clean Harbors, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Eric W. Gerstenberg sold 2,500 shares of Clean Harbors stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.34, for a total transaction of $803,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,249,862.62. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Andrea Robertson sold 789 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.01, for a total transaction of $247,753.89. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,979 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,495.79. This represents a 8.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

About Clean Harbors

Clean Harbors, Inc is a leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services in North America. The company specializes in the collection, transportation and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, emergency spill response and remediation, industrial cleaning and on-site field services. Its comprehensive service offering also includes chemical neutralization, drum crushing, high-pressure water blasting, tank cleaning and vacuum services designed to help customers meet stringent environmental regulations.

Founded in 1980 by Alan S.